"Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try. No hell below us, Above us only sky. Imagine all the people Living for today..."

I heard John Lennon singing "Imagine" on the radio this morning and the lyrics seemed to catch me in a different mood than usual. Normally, this gentle, dreamy tune just floats through the air and the familiar words seem harmless and perhaps even inspiring -- and yet, so unrealistic that even Lennon acknowledges as much with the line "you may say I'm a dreamer...."
I am a big Beatles fan, I love their music and think it will be heard as long as human beings walk this planet. And I admire Lennon for his creativity and his sense of responsibility. He wanted to use the currency of his fame to make the world a better place. I greatly respect that because so many famous artists just want more -- bigger mansions, fancier cars, prettier wives or husbands, bigger name on the marquee, etc. Lennon reached the absolute pinnacle of worldly success and soon realized that there's got to be more to life than material goods, conquests, and adulation.
But more than being a Beatles fan, I am a Christian.
And today, I couldn't just shrug off Lennon's quaint ode to humanism. When I try to imagine no heaven and no hell, I find it to be a scary thought. People who have no spiritual understanding think that religion is some sort of crutch or an "opiate of the masses" or a cynical effort to control and exploit people.
While countless abuses have been perpetrated in "God's name" and many religious people have been revealed as hypocrites, spirituality is the greatest, most important influence on humanity. It's not a crutch or a club to control people, but an expression and a search from deep within.
Religion is man's rules based on spiritual laws, and sometimes man's interpretations can be wrong. As Bono of U2 put it aptly: "Religion is what we get after God leaves the room." That doesn't mean we are permitted to ignore spiritual realities with the cop-out that some so-called religious people have failed to do what's right.
I believe the Bible is accurate when it says we are made in God's image. We are tripartite beings -- body, mind, and spirit -- in balance with and in a reflection of God as the Holy Trinity. We have spiritual needs and just as our body and mind need exercise, so does the spirit. When our spiritual lives are neglected, or when they become twisted and perverted, we get out of balance and try to nullify the spiritual realities and laws. That can make us a menace to ourselves and those around us.
When people start believing there's no heaven and no hell, they can carry automatic rifles into school buildings or leap off bridges or commit genocide and feel self-satisfied, justified, and convinced there will be no eternal ramifications.
Recognizing spiritual realities helps to keep our baser natures in check. Without spiritual rules and understanding, our world can quickly spiral downward into a scenario like William Golding depicts in "Lord of the Flies."
I believe Father Robinson is one of those who thought he could ignore God's laws and imagine his own set of rules -- rules that would somehow justify the brutal murder of an elderly nun. Whether his motive was to sacrifice a pure soul to Satan, or to mock God, or just to lash out in anger, if he truly had believed and adhered to the words of the Bible, he would not have begun his descent down the path that ultimately led him to take an innocent life.
John Lennon was a creative genius and a good musician, but he also was a natural born leader and a lifelong seeker. He had some great ideas and he meant well, but he was way off base when he thought the world would be a better place and that people would be living in peace if we ignored the reality of heaven and hell. It's a shame John's life was cut short and he never had the chance to re-imagine that song.
Toledo, Ohio, Jan. 9, 2007